Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We have also changed the definition of off-farm income in the Bill. Income derived from an activity that is totally separate from farming would not apply, but activity that runs from farming, something like grain drying, with which the Chairman would be familiar, would possibly be eligible, or the production of the kind of things we see at farmers' markets. They would all be within the criteria for qualification. Anything that hinges back into the principal farming activity and runs from it will qualify. If it is something entirely separate, for example, working as a small building contractor as well as a small farmer, that would not work.